The ACLU of Southern California sent a letter Thursday to Loma Linda University warning officials that the school’s policy against allowing students who are covered by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, to enroll is unlawful.

The ACLU of Southern California sent a letter Thursday to Loma Linda University warning officials that the school’s policy against allowing students who are covered by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, to enroll is unlawful.

LOMA LINDA >> Loma Linda University violated federal civil rights law when it refused to enroll a would-be student in classes because of her immigration status, according to the ACLU of Southern California.

And the university agreed in a statement issued late Thursday saying it regretted the mistake and apologized.

The civil rights group wrote a letter to the university Thursday, demanding the university review its policies and refund the student’s application fee and deposit.

Carson resident Veronica Velasquez, 23, a senior in kinesiology at Cal State San Bernardino, was born in the Philippines and arrived in the United States as a child, but she does not currently have legal immigration status. Under the 2012 federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, she’s protected from deportation.

Her DACA status became a problem for Velasquez in April when she was accepted into Loma Linda’s graduate physical therapy program. Eight days later, according to the ACLU, Velasquez was told she couldn’t enroll in classes because of her DACA status.

“Excluding students like Veronica Velasquez from LLU simply because they have been granted deferred action under DACA discriminates based on alienage in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981,” the nine-page letter, credited to a trio of ACLU lawyers, reads in part.

According to the letter, Loma Linda University justified its action by saying that undocumented students cannot obtain professional licenses, that DACA status only is valid for one year and that DACA students are ineligible for many kinds of financial assistance.

The ACLU said California prohibits state licensing boards from denying an applicant based on citizenship or immigrations status, DACA status can be renewed for two years at a time, and Velasquez is still eligible for private loans and other forms of financial assistance.

“LLU’s policy is not only discriminatory and unlawful, it is ill-advised,” the ACLU letter continues. “It prevents eligible students like Ms. Velasquez — who have worked hard and want to make a meaningful contribution to their families and to the community — from achieving their educational and professional dreams. We urge LLU to cease its unlawful and discriminatory policy denying enrollment to students with DACA immediately.”

The letter from the ACLU concludes by asking the university to “reconsider its unlawful DACA policy immediately” and asks the university to refund Velasquez’s $40 application fee, $350 deposit to hold her spot in the class of 2016, and $42.95 fee for a criminal background check, which was required for enrollment.

Thursday evening, the university’s lawyer agreed with the ACLU.

“Undocumented or immigrant status is not a legitimate basis for denying students admission to the university,” a response letter from Kent Hansen, general counsel for Loma Linda University, reads in part. “It has never been a basis for denying admission to the university, hence Ms. Velasquez was accepted.”

There was a time when the university, “out of concern for our students’ finances, hesitated to enroll those who might not be licensed to practice,” he wrote.

That issue was resolved on Jan. 1, when California law was updated to allow DACA students to receive their licenses in the state of California. But not everyone at the university was apparently aware of the change in the law.

“We regret that mistake and apologize,” Hansen wrote. “We immediately rectified the situation and communicated that to her. We are also reviewing our applications and acceptances to correct any other instance of this problem that may have occurred.”

Beau Yarbrough wrote his first newspaper article taking on an authority figure (his middle school principal) when he was in 7th grade. He’s been a professional journalist since 1992, working in Virginia, Egypt and California. In that time, he’s covered community news, features, politics, local government, education, the comic book industry and more. He’s covered the war in Bosnia, interviewed presidential candidates, written theatrical reviews, attended a seance, ridden in a blimp and interviewed both Batman and Wonder Woman (Adam West and Lynda Carter). He also cooks a mean pot of chili.

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